I’ve threatened many times and tomorrow morning I plan to make the call to cancel our Cable TV subscription. I have too big a life to waste the time sitting on my rump watching mindless entertainment that does little to enhance my existence. Actually it causes more stress and tension than not!
We did this once before with paramount success. I was much more prolific in the artistic department, my house was tidier and the gardens in check. Why we turned it back on after a year’s abstinence is a mystery but I recall it had something to do with hubby being away for long periods and I lacked the imagination to keep myself entertained so in a weak moment I had it reconnected.
Its summer now, or so it tries to be, and there is so much to do that if I don’t focus straight ahead without distractions I won’t achieve any of the goals I’ve set. Something had to give and the only place to pare down a few hours in the day was the time spent eating in front of and staring at the screen. It’s the main reason we stay up too late every night. Right now it is 12:59 and I’m writing instead of brushing my teeth for bed. We ate in front of the TV again and remained there like two lumps of mashed potatoes, for three hours! Yep, it’s time to get a grip and shut it down, at least for the summer, after that we’ll see.
All the shows we normally follow had their season finales so what’s the point of watching reruns and movies that play over and over. We only have the basic cable so there isn’t anything interesting enough to seduce us into hanging on. Everyone sings Netflix praises so we might give that a shot in the fall if the need arises to go back to the couch potato positions. There are good things to be found on TV such as PBS programming, Nova, The Nature Of Things, documentaries and shows that inform as well as entertain, but they are few and far between and this time of year are mostly repeats. I’m not a repeat kind of gal, once in the noggin it parks and stays so wasting time to watch it the second time, well, no excuse there except pure laziness and avoidance for chores that need doing.
TV is for the lifestyles that don’t come with lists as long as skipping ropes, where the evenings and weekends, after the standard chores of laundry and dishes, are free. TV shouldn’t come with a backwash of stress and guilt. If its mindless entertainment you want, it should be rejoiced because that’s the purpose it was created for. But when it’s abused, watching too late or when other pressing matters are ignored it becomes an elephant in the room. When it plays havoc with health, like interfering with proper rest and compromising a perky, early morning rise then it’s a problem. For me with elevated blood sugar who doesn’t rely on a pill to regulate the internal goings-on, I have to keep moving so wearing out the sofa cushions isn’t conducive to a happy balance and will shorten my life….I'm much more important than TV, my loved ones and pups would agree!
I came home after work this evening and worked in the garden for a couple of hours and I must say I was much more pleased with myself then how I felt after watching TV for the last three hours of the day. It feels good to work outside, digging in the dirt, having it get in my sneakers and my mouth, my hair. It was smeared all over my face like a two year old and truly playing in the dirt makes me feel like a kid again. My body might groan a bit but I think, overall, it appreciates a good workout. Of course after the sun set, gardening wasn’t an option, but I could have gone to the garage to start scraping those wicker chairs to ready them for a new coat of paint. I think I would have felt satisfied crawling into bed after an evening of productivity than chastising myself for wasting three whole hours on TV.
Anyway, time for bed, the dishes didn’t get done because of the preoccupation with television so that lovely chore will be waiting for us in the morning. More collateral damage because there is nothing worse than starting the day off with a dirty slate. I know it’s our fault, we have control of the controller, but both of us are equally bad, we see a show and have to watch it to the end; staring at the screen like brain dead zombies. The best way to deal with this kind of weakness is to go cold turkey. Get the cable company to flip the switch so we can’t backslide. And another perk, we’ll save about $100.00 a month, that’s a yearly total of $1200.00, mad money to treat us with something that will last longer than a few laughs from a flash in the pan sitcom.
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with television. Like a bad date there are more faults than positives and I swear I’ll not turn it on every evening but end up sitting in front of it like a good little soldier. It sucks me into its vortex and numbs my brain, siphons my energy and wastes what precious time I have left on this planet. Will I miss it? Truthfully, I’ll probably be chomping at the bit by Friday but as long as I don’t have the option to turn it back on I’ll muddle through the withdrawal. Seeing all the work I’ll do will help, the freshly coated wicker chairs on our lovely back deck, overlooking the perfectly weeded gardens. Maybe we’ll start dining outside with real-life nature instead of sitting inside watching it on TV.
We did this once before with paramount success. I was much more prolific in the artistic department, my house was tidier and the gardens in check. Why we turned it back on after a year’s abstinence is a mystery but I recall it had something to do with hubby being away for long periods and I lacked the imagination to keep myself entertained so in a weak moment I had it reconnected.
Its summer now, or so it tries to be, and there is so much to do that if I don’t focus straight ahead without distractions I won’t achieve any of the goals I’ve set. Something had to give and the only place to pare down a few hours in the day was the time spent eating in front of and staring at the screen. It’s the main reason we stay up too late every night. Right now it is 12:59 and I’m writing instead of brushing my teeth for bed. We ate in front of the TV again and remained there like two lumps of mashed potatoes, for three hours! Yep, it’s time to get a grip and shut it down, at least for the summer, after that we’ll see.
All the shows we normally follow had their season finales so what’s the point of watching reruns and movies that play over and over. We only have the basic cable so there isn’t anything interesting enough to seduce us into hanging on. Everyone sings Netflix praises so we might give that a shot in the fall if the need arises to go back to the couch potato positions. There are good things to be found on TV such as PBS programming, Nova, The Nature Of Things, documentaries and shows that inform as well as entertain, but they are few and far between and this time of year are mostly repeats. I’m not a repeat kind of gal, once in the noggin it parks and stays so wasting time to watch it the second time, well, no excuse there except pure laziness and avoidance for chores that need doing.
TV is for the lifestyles that don’t come with lists as long as skipping ropes, where the evenings and weekends, after the standard chores of laundry and dishes, are free. TV shouldn’t come with a backwash of stress and guilt. If its mindless entertainment you want, it should be rejoiced because that’s the purpose it was created for. But when it’s abused, watching too late or when other pressing matters are ignored it becomes an elephant in the room. When it plays havoc with health, like interfering with proper rest and compromising a perky, early morning rise then it’s a problem. For me with elevated blood sugar who doesn’t rely on a pill to regulate the internal goings-on, I have to keep moving so wearing out the sofa cushions isn’t conducive to a happy balance and will shorten my life….I'm much more important than TV, my loved ones and pups would agree!
I came home after work this evening and worked in the garden for a couple of hours and I must say I was much more pleased with myself then how I felt after watching TV for the last three hours of the day. It feels good to work outside, digging in the dirt, having it get in my sneakers and my mouth, my hair. It was smeared all over my face like a two year old and truly playing in the dirt makes me feel like a kid again. My body might groan a bit but I think, overall, it appreciates a good workout. Of course after the sun set, gardening wasn’t an option, but I could have gone to the garage to start scraping those wicker chairs to ready them for a new coat of paint. I think I would have felt satisfied crawling into bed after an evening of productivity than chastising myself for wasting three whole hours on TV.
Anyway, time for bed, the dishes didn’t get done because of the preoccupation with television so that lovely chore will be waiting for us in the morning. More collateral damage because there is nothing worse than starting the day off with a dirty slate. I know it’s our fault, we have control of the controller, but both of us are equally bad, we see a show and have to watch it to the end; staring at the screen like brain dead zombies. The best way to deal with this kind of weakness is to go cold turkey. Get the cable company to flip the switch so we can’t backslide. And another perk, we’ll save about $100.00 a month, that’s a yearly total of $1200.00, mad money to treat us with something that will last longer than a few laughs from a flash in the pan sitcom.
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with television. Like a bad date there are more faults than positives and I swear I’ll not turn it on every evening but end up sitting in front of it like a good little soldier. It sucks me into its vortex and numbs my brain, siphons my energy and wastes what precious time I have left on this planet. Will I miss it? Truthfully, I’ll probably be chomping at the bit by Friday but as long as I don’t have the option to turn it back on I’ll muddle through the withdrawal. Seeing all the work I’ll do will help, the freshly coated wicker chairs on our lovely back deck, overlooking the perfectly weeded gardens. Maybe we’ll start dining outside with real-life nature instead of sitting inside watching it on TV.
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